A technical team, led by TCL Packaging has developed a new packaging film that meets strict criteria demanded of chopped lettuce packers supplying McDonald’s.

The challenge, driven by McDonald’s environmental policy, was to move away from traditional PET/PE laminate films but continue to meet the stringent conditions for keeping iceberg lettuce fresh and ensuring packs are easy to open.

The ability to improve packing speeds was also a requirement for the lettuce packers to meet demand.

Part of the development work involved a number of subtle chemical changes and many trials of the film properties through the extrusion process to create a film that meets the technical requirements.

The outcome is a new clear, recyclable, mono-layer PE-based material with easy peel properties. The film runs successfully at speed without any temperature issues. Slitting the new film requires specialist conversion expertise which is handled by TCL at their facility in Telford.

The resulting film meets all the requirements of the McDonald’s supply chain and the brand’s commitment to renewable and recyclable packaging.

Interest is already being expressed for this new product from lettuce and salad packers in a number of European countries.

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